Intended compatibility of files contents while transition from 2.79->2.80->2.81
If it crashes then it's a bug. Please report it on the bug tracker (Help > Report a Bug in Blender). It would be ideal if you can create a .blend file that can be shared publicly.

You should be able to open and run 2.79 files in newer version with the exception of removed features such BGE or the Blender Internal render engine which no longer exist in 2.8 and beyond.